Hotel Del

We checked into the beautiful and historic Hotel Del Coronado

Il Fornaio

The night before the marathon we went to Il Fornaio and carb loaded (not that necessary for me since I wasn't running : )

View of San Diego

The view of San Diego from the restaurant was beautiful. I wandered outside before the food arrived and got some great night shots of the city

View from the hotel

Back in the hotel the clouds gave the beach a warm and beautiful look

Getting Ready!

The next morning we headed to Balboa park where Christi and Karen did some stretching and psyched themselves up for the big race

Mile 3

After they took off I walked across the park to intercept them at Mile 3. I stood on top of this bridge while a band underneath kept the runners going with a great rhythm

Runners at Mile 3

It turns out I was a bit optimistic thinking I could pick them out of 20,000 runners at Mile 3.

Mile 9

I had much more luck at Mile 9 where I was able to hike down to the freeway and catch them running up the largest hill on the route

Banana Man

I saw some incredible characters that day, and was able to look some of them up on the race website. This is Mark Owen, he's 43 and he finished in 4:28:00, despite running in a banana suit!

Strawberry Shortcake

This guy cracked me up

Running Elvis's

Or is that "Elvi" when there's more than one? Either way these guys were great. I was able to look one of them up. His name is Rob Mc Nair, he's 50) and finished in 4:16:10

Overdressed Guy

Joe Giacomini (43) who admittedly dressed a bit too warm but finished in a respectable 5:47:26

The Princesses

I loved these two. Denise Boehle (52) and Shirley Shaw (54) who dressed as princesses and finished in an incredible 4:01:21

Karen & Christi

Best of all I was able to find Karen and Christi at Mile 9

The Hill

After cheering Christi and Karen on I climbed back up to the overpass and shot this picture of the hill they were running up

Apollo Creed?

I headed out to Mile 17 to watch for Christi and Karen and saw this guy that looks just like Apollo Creed

Raju

I also saw a friend of ours from work

Huge Dude

Michael Muilenburg (looked him up on the race site) is 36, has been working out quite a bit, and did not appear to be happy that I was taking his picture. He did finish in a respectable 5:30:57

Barefoot Guy

Wow! no shoes. Incredible!

Runaway Bride

These things have to be uncomfortable enough in a church, let alone for 26+ miles!

Christi & Karen

After catching Christi for a quick kiss at Mile 17 I headed out to Sea World to catch them at Mile 21

Christi & Karen

And off they go for what had to be the toughest 5.2-miles they've ever run

Bleeding!

This just looks brutal. Talk about no pain no gain!

Finish Line

Wrestling with traffic and getting into the Marine Corps base where the finish line made be late, but luckily they got this finish line photo

Finishing Time

Christi's watch captured their finishing time

Finish Photo

I couldn't believe how energetic they were at the finish line. I would have been in a coma!

Christi & Jenny

Christi and her friend Jenny at the finish line

Heading out

Christi, Jenny, and their friend Tricia heading for the car

Marathon Route

Here's a picture of the marathon route